Waltz Towards Destruction

Bang!

The tennis ball flew out diagonally again.

"Game, Atobe Keigo. The score is 1–0."

After Atobe held serve with ease, it was Akutsu's turn to serve.

"Heh..."

Akutsu squeezed the tennis ball tightly, feeling every muscle in his body stir with excitement.

This was the feeling he wanted—the feeling that, even though his opponent was stronger, he could see him and catch up to him.

It was different from watching from the station platform back then, and different from the pressure Saeki Muneyoshi and Tezuka Kunimitsu had put on him.

Atobe seemed stronger than him, but he wasn't truly that difficult to beat.

Especially now that Akutsu was actually on the court, feeling the immense pressure Atobe exerted.

He felt an opportunity to improve his strength again, one he hadn't felt in a long time.

"This is it!"

A tremor crept into his voice as the aura around Akutsu began to stir. Wisps of grayish-white energy started to spread.

When he reached his limit, he suddenly clenched his fists, and a fierce, murderous aura burst from within him.

The tennis ball was suppressed, yet he could still see the figure ahead. This made Akutsu feel genuinely excited.

But Atobe's sudden, haughty remark seemed to remind Akutsu of some unpleasant past. Now, the beast had been provoked.

Grayish-white energy enveloped him, adding to his already ferocious appearance and making his expression even more savage.

Someone with exceptional mental strength like Muneyoshi could even make out the silvery-gray threads of flame flickering around Akutsu from outside the court.

It was a sign that his mental energy had taken tangible form.

"Ah, hm? You only lost one game. There's no need to get so angry, Akutsu. You're really not being very elegant!"

Atobe, whose mental perception was exceptionally sharp, had of course noticed the change in Akutsu. The smile at the corners of his mouth grew wider.

Akutsu's expression was unsettling, but not enough to frighten Atobe.

Besides, this was a match. When it came to tennis, Atobe had nothing to fear.

Tap... tap... tap...

After lightly bouncing the ball a few times, Akutsu raised his sharp eyes and tossed it into the air.

Bang!

A diagonal serve with a wide swing of his arm.

"That's a pretty good serve."

Feeling an invisible pressure weighing down on him, Atobe sounded a little impressed. But he didn't stop moving, and pushed through the pressure to reach the ball.

Bang!

Sss...

The moment the racket met the ball, its powerful impact made the net tremble, but that was no problem for Atobe.

Akutsu wasn't about to back down, either.

Bang!

Atobe sent the ball back again.

Akutsu sprinted out like a leopard, his shirt fluttering in the wind.

Boom!

Even while trading shots, Akutsu was off balance, yet he still managed a powerful shot that had the look of a winner.

Atobe took a few steps to reach the net and return it. The instant his racket struck the ball, a tremendous jolt traveled through the racket face and into his hand.

"Hmm?"

Atobe's palm went numb, but he still managed to send the ball back with his excellent technique and solid fundamentals.

Then, as Akutsu abandoned all defense and unleashed his full attacking power, Atobe finally understood.

Sometimes, a match against someone who relied on physical ability rather than technique looked like this.

What's more, Akutsu had trained systematically alongside Tezuka and Fuji, so his technique wasn't bad at all.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

"Not bad, Akutsu!"

After returning another shot, Atobe seemed to have fully settled into the match. He turned toward the other side of the court and praised him. "Your game may not be elegant, but I'll accept your conviction!"

Atobe's voice gradually turned cold, then his usual arrogance returned. "But this match ends now!"

"Don't make me laugh!"

Akutsu roared and shot forward, his feet kicking up a breeze as he pounced like a leopard and chased the ball down by sheer force.

"I'll smash you!"

"A few weeks ago, I probably would have been in for a tough match against you. But... this feeling of standing on the threshold of the National Level really is intoxicating!"

A flicker of nostalgia and emotion passed through Atobe's eyes before his expression settled into unwavering resolve. His one-handed grip remained steady; Akutsu's terrifying power wasn't too much for him to handle.

With a twist of his body, he used the force of his rotation to drive a backhand shot toward a spot he considered Akutsu's blind spot.

But the point he'd expected didn't come right away...

"Hah!"

With an exhilarated shout, Akutsu twisted his body nimbly, forcibly turning his ankle along with it.

He returned the shot, which had seemed to land in his blind spot, in a bizarre posture.

Then his arm whipped up, and he sent back another powerful shot, charging toward the net at high speed once more.

"That body of his is incredible. Ordinary blind spots are useless against someone like him."

"Then I'll have to use my real strength!"

A wave of icy cold spread from Atobe's side of the court toward Akutsu. Even with his aura bolstering him, Akutsu felt the biting chill.

"It's over, Akutsu. Freeze!"

Icicles appeared one after another, flying from Atobe's side into Akutsu's half of the court and embedding themselves in various positions.

Thwack!

The tennis ball struck one of the pillars of ice in Atobe's eyes with pinpoint accuracy. Akutsu couldn't move at all.

"Game, Atobe Keigo. 4–3."

"Game, Atobe Keigo. 5–3."

Bang!

"ACE, 15–0."

It was Atobe's service game, and the effects of Ice World still remained. The ball struck an ice pillar directly, earning him an ace.

Bang!

"ACE, 30–0."

"Against your own blind spots, you're helpless. No matter how gifted your body is, it's useless. Here comes another one, Akutsu." Atobe prepared to serve the third ball.

Just then, Atobe noticed that two of the ice pillars in Akutsu's half had disappeared.

The pillars he'd shattered by repeatedly targeting the same weak spots hadn't regenerated.

That meant those spots were no longer Akutsu's blind spots.

"Could this guy have...?"

Atobe was startled. With Saeki Muneyoshi's example fresh in his mind, he immediately understood what Akutsu was really trying to do.

To test his theory, Atobe sent the ball toward the same spot as before.

Just as Atobe had expected, Akutsu adjusted his footwork slightly, moved into position, and returned the ball at once, winning the point.

"30–15."

Akutsu had indeed covered and corrected that blind spot.

"You're just like him, too... Is my special move only good for finding your weaknesses? What a joke!" Atobe's expression changed, and he snapped angrily.

"If that's the case, I'll bring you to ruin!"

Bang!

It was the same route, the same spot. Atobe sent another ball.

Akutsu returned it the same way.

Tap, tap!

Atobe covered the distance in two steps instead of three. He gently crossed his feet and tilted his racket downward, flicking the rising ball upward.

Thwack!

With a crisp sound, the tennis ball sailed over Akutsu's head toward the back of the court.

Skid...

Akutsu came to an abrupt stop, spun around, and raced after the ball as it was about to land behind him.

Whoosh.

He dove forward, stretching his arm to its limit.

Bang!

The racket marked with a W clipped the ball just before its second bounce.

But the next moment—

"Haha... Akutsu Jin, behold my elegant technique!"

Clang! Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!

Like a series of rapidly cut shots, the scene left only those sharp eyes behind in Akutsu's mind.

"Be destroyed, then—Waltz Towards Destruction!"

With a light laugh, a figure leapt high into the air.

Bang!

A rush of air crashed down from above. Atobe slammed the ball down with all his might, sending it straight at Akutsu's racket.

Crack!

The ball knocked the racket out of Akutsu's hand and bounced back. Atobe leapt again, even higher than before, and when he reached the peak of his jump, he smashed the ball down once more.

Thwack!

A pale-yellow blur flashed across Akutsu's field of vision.

"Game, this game goes to Atobe Keigo of Hyotei Academy. The score is 6–3."

"The champion of this Metropolitan Tournament is Hyotei Academy."

P.S. "Thanks to Ying Kun for the monthly ticket and tip!"